The Battle of Cassel (February 2, 1071) and the Flemish Succession War

The Battle of Cassel on February 2, 1071, was the decisive confrontation in the Flemish succession war, where Robert the Frisian emerged victorious over Countess Richilde of Hainaut and her allies, including King Philip I of France and Norman forces led by William FitzOsbern. The battle reshaped the political landscape of Flanders and northern France, weakening Norman and Capetian influence on the continent.

The Course of the Battle

• William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford, a close ally of King William I of England, fought on behalf of Richilde and her son Baldwin II of Hainaut, as part of a pro-Capetian and Norman coalition.
• During the battle, FitzOsbern was killed in action, ending his ambitions of marrying Countess Richilde and securing a foothold in Flanders.
• Robert the Frisian’s forces ultimately triumphed, but Robert himself was briefly captured.
• Meanwhile, Richilde was also taken prisoner, leading to a temporary halt in the fighting while both captives were exchanged for one another.
• The battle resumed, culminating in a major victory for Robert.

The Death of Arnulf III and the Fate of Gerbod the Fleming

• Arnulf III of Flanders, Richilde’s son and rightful heir, was killed during the battle, reportedly by Gerbod the Fleming, the first Earl of Chester.
• Gerbod, though a Flemish noble, fought for Robert, suggesting that he had either switched sides or acted independently.
• The killing of Arnulf III—possibly an accident—shocked the Flemish nobility, as Gerbod had effectively slain his own liege lord.

Consequences of the Battle

• With Arnulf dead, Robert the Frisian claimed the Countship of Flanders, solidifying his rule over the county.
• Richilde and Baldwin II fled back to Hainaut, where they continued to resist Robert, though with diminished power.
• King William I of England lost an important continental ally, as Robert was hostile to Norman influence in Flanders and northern France.
• The battle shifted the balance of power, weakening Norman expansion in Flanders while strengthening Robert’s independent rule.

Gerbod the Fleming’s Fate: A Life of Penance

• After killing Arnulf III, Gerbod reportedly fled to Rome, seeking papal forgiveness for the sin of killing his rightful lord.
• Pope Gregory VII granted Gerbod absolution but ordered him to enter monastic life, sending him to Hugh, Abbot of Cluny.
• Gerbod became a monk at Cluny, where he lived out his days in religious devotion.
• English and Norman chroniclers (Orderic Vitalis and the Hyde Chronicle) mistakenly recorded that Gerbod had been captured and imprisoned, unaware of his self-imposed exile and monastic life.

Legacy of the Battle of Cassel

• Flanders emerged as a dominant power under Robert the Frisian, marking the decline of Capetian and Norman influence in the region.
• The death of Arnulf III and the exile of Gerbod reinforced the final shift in Flemish leadership, ending Richilde’s hopes of restoring her son to power.
• The battle marked one of the last major setbacks for King William I’s continental ambitions, as Robert’s hostility toward Normandy made further expansion difficult.

The Battle of Cassel in 1071 had far-reaching consequences for Flanders, Normandy, and England, shaping the power struggles of northern France for years to come.

Philip II’s Campaign in Flanders and the English Blockade at Damme (1213 CE)

After Philip II of France abandoned his planned invasion of England, he redirected his army against Flanders, punishing Count Ferdinand of Portugal for his defiance. The French army marched through Cassel, Ypres, and Bruges, before laying siege to Ghent, one of the largest and most important Flemish cities.

The Battle of Cassel, fought near the city of Cassel, thirty kilometers south of Dunkirk in present-day France, on April 11, 1677, as a part of the Franco-Dutch War, results in a French victory under Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, assisted by the Duke of Humières and Marshal Luxembourg, against the Dutch under William III of Orange.

Jean-Charles Pichegru, as Général de division and in command of the army of the Rhine, had been tasked with the reconquest of Alsace and the reorganization of the defeated troops of the French Republic, in cooperation with Lazare Hoche and the army of the Moselle.

They had succeeded, as Pichegru had made use of the morale of his soldiers to win numerous skirmishes, and Hoche had forced the lines at Haguenau and relieved Landau.

Hoche had been arrested In March 1793,  probably owing to his colleague’s denunciations, and Pichegru had become commander-in-chief of the army of the Rhine-and-Moselle. (Hoche will escape execution, however, though imprisoned in Paris until the fall of Robespierre.)

Pichegru had then been summoned to succeed Jourdan in the army of the North, subsequently fighting three major campaigns of one year.

Pichegru was born at Arbois (or, according to Charles Nodier, at Les Planches, near Lons-le-Saulnier), as the son of a peasant.

The friars of Arbois, having been entrusted with his education, had sent him to the military school of Brienne-le-Château.

In 1783, he had entered the 1st regiment of artillery, where he had rapidly rises to the rank of Adjutant-Second Lieutenant and briefly served in the American Revolutionary War.

When the Revolution erupted in 1789, Pichegru had become leader of the Jacobin Club in Besançon, and had been elected Lieutenant Colonel when a regiment of volunteers of the départment of the Gard marched through the city.

The fine condition of his regiment had been noticed in the French Revolutionary Army section of the Rhine, and his organizing ability had gotten him appointed in the headquarters, and then promoted Général de brigade.

Lazare Carnot and Louis de Saint-Just had been sent In 1793 to find roturier (non-aristocratic) generals who could prove successful.

Carnot had discovered Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, and Saint-Just had discovered Louis Lazare Hoche and Pichegru.

The forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and Habsburg Austria hold a strong position along the Sambre to the North Sea.

After attempting to break the Austrian center, Pichegru suddenly turns their right, and defeats the Count of Clerfayt at Cassel, ...